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The problem of water deficits is truly an international problem that affects almost every nation in the world, from super powers like the US to developing nations such as India. David Zhang from the Hong Kong University has analyzed half a millennium's worth of conflict and realized that a large proportion of these conflict had been caused by water shortage issues and could for see future conflicts.
In the United States, there are multiple water deficits problems. In a country that uses an average of 600 liters per person per day, there are still people that don't have an easy access to a water source because they are too poor to pay their water bills. In the South West or on the southern Great Plains, big cattle ranchers and farmers are pumping out of the Ogallala Aquifer at alarming rates. Currently the aquifer is being depleted at an alarming rate of 12 billion cubic meters a year or the equivalent of the flow of 18 Colorado rivers a year. Some farmers are trying to decrease the amount of water they pump from the aquifer, but it is still decreasing at an alarming rate.
In India, the water problems demonstrate one of need versus luxury. There have been cases where plants making Coca-Cola have taken water to make Coke from farmers who depend on the water to sustain their farms upon which their lives depend. This as caused the farmers to look for other sources of finding suitable water, in some cases digging wells over 450 feet deep in unsafe conditions.
Other problems arise with rivers and lakes that transverse territorial lines. The Nile is one case in point. A major source of water for Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan, the Nile would be unable to sustain the three countries' populations if they were to continue to grow at the projected rates. This could lead to wars between the countries to try an impose their rights to the use of the river's water and secure for their people a source of water.
When Central Asian states gained their Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, it became every nation for themselves. Each new nation was no longer extended the economic infrastructure and management that the former Soviet Union offered in terms of water sanitation and storage, leading to wasted resources. Wasted resources in Central Asia, where crops such as cotton and rice require intensive irrigation, lead to a decreased water supply for public use. Aging irrigation systems in the region that are decaying allow only half of water supplies to reach crops and annual droughts further heighten the soon to be crisis. The following is a ink to an article by the International Crisis Group describing water shortages in Central Asia. http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id
Depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer
Farmers in India, Israel, Jordan, Spain and the United States have shown that drip irrigation systems that deliver water directly to crop roots can cut water use by 30 to 70 percent and raise crop yields by 20 to 90 percent.
In the Texas High Plains, farmers using highly efficient sprinklers raised their water efficiency to more than 90 percent while simultaneously increasing corn yields by 10 percent and cotton yields by 15 percent.
Rice farmers in an area of Malaysia saw a 45 percent increase in their water productivity through a combination of better scheduling their irrigations, shoring up canals, and sowing seeds directly in the field rather than transplanting seedlings.
Farmers in California's Imperial Valley are lining canals, recycling farm runoff and selling the saved water to southern California cities.
Israel is now reusing 65 percent of its domestic wastewater for crop production, freeing up additional freshwater for households and industries.
In Bangladesh, farmers have purchased 1.2 million treadle pumps, a human-powered device that allows users to pump previously inaccessible groundwater. These pumps, which to an affluent Westerner look remarkably like a Stairmaster exercise machine, cost $35 but typically return more than $100 in the first year of operation.
In India, home to 1.002 billion people, key aquifers are being overpumped, and the soil is growing saltier through contamination with irrigation water. Irrigation was a key to increasing food production in India during the green revolution, and as the population surges toward a projected 1.363 billion in 2025, its crops will continue to depend on clean water and clean soil.
Israel (population 6.2 million), invented many water-conserving technologies, but water withdrawals still exceed resupply. Overpumping of aquifers along the coast is allowing seawater to pollute drinking water. Like neighboring Jordan, Israel is largely dependent on the Jordan River for fresh water.
Water Pollution Facts WATER POLLUTION FACTS FOR THE UNITED STATES
Water Pollution Fact #1
40% of America's rivers are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life.
Water Pollution Fact #2
Even worse are America's lakes—46% are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life.
Water Pollution Fact #3
Two-thirds of US estuaries and bays are either moderately or severely degraded from eutrophication (nitrogen and phosphorus pollution).
Water Pollution Fact #4
The Mississippi River—which drains nearly 40% of the continental United States, including its central farm lands—carries an estimated 1.5 million metric tons of nitrogen pollution into the Gulf of Mexico each year. The resulting hypoxic coastal dead zone in the Gulf each summer is about the size of Massachusetts.
Endangered Rivers
The river-protection group American Rivers lists the primary water pollution threats for U.S rivers:
-- Polluted runoff from roads, parking lots, and neighborhood lawns
-- Runoff from farms (pesticides, fertilizers, and animal waste)
-- Livestock damage to riparian areas (reduces near-stream filtering abilities)
-- Logging and mining operations
Of the 1200 species listed as threatened or endangered, 50% depend on rivers and streams. At least 123 freshwater species became extinct during the 20th century.
Source: American Rivers - River Facts page
Water Pollution Fact #5
1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, stormwater, and industrial waste are discharged into US waters annually. The US EPA has warned that sewage levels in rivers could be back to the super-polluted levels of the 1970s by the year 2016.
Water Pollution Fact #6
In any given year, about 25% of beaches in the US are under advisories or are closed at least one time because of water pollution.
WATER POLLUTION FACTS BEYOND THE U.S.
Water Pollution Fact #7
Asian rivers are the most polluted in the world. They have three times as many bacteria from human waste as the global average and 20 times more lead than rivers in industrialized countries.
Water Pollution Fact #8
In 2004, water from half of the tested sections of China's seven major rivers was found to be undrinkable because of pollution.
Canada’s
Most Endangered Rivers
#1 - Petitcodiac River
#2 - Eastmain River
#3 - Okanagan River
#4 - Taku River / Iskut River
#5 - Groundhog River
#6 - Milk River
#7 - Peel River
#8 - Red River
#9 - Churchill River
#10 - Bow River
SOURCE: EndangeredRivers.net
Water Pollution Fact #9
The quality of water in Europe's rivers and lakes used for swimming and water sports worsened between 2004 and 2005, with 10% of sites not meeting standards.
Water Pollution Fact #10
Slovakia has the lowest compliance with EU guidelines for freshwater areas, with only 22.4% of bathing sites meeting the standards.
Water Pollution Fact #11
Thirty percent of Ireland's rivers are polluted with sewage or fertilizer.
Water Pollution Fact #12
The Sarno is the most polluted river in Europe, featuring a nasty mix of sewage, untreated agricultural waste, industrial waste, and chemicals.
Water Pollution Fact #13
Greece has the cleanest coastal waters, followed by Spain and Germany. Lithuania and Estonia have the dirtiest coastal waters.
Water Pollution Fact #14
The King River is Australia's most polluted river, suffering from a severe acidic condition related to mining operations.
Water Pollution Fact #15
Pollution of freshwater (drinking water) is a problem for about half of the world's population. Each year there are about 250 million cases of water-related diseases, with roughly 5 to 10 million deaths.
Water Pollution Fact #16
Diseases caused by the ingestion of water contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites include:
cholera
typhoid
schistosomiasis
dysentery and other diarrheal diseases
Water Pollution Fact #17
Bangladesh has some of the most polluted groundwater in the world. In this case, the contaminant is arsenic, which occurs naturally in the sediments. Around 85% of the total area of the country has contaminated groundwater, with at least 1.2 million Bangladeshis exposed to arsenic poisoning and with millions more at risk.
Water Pollution Fact #18
Each year, plastic waste in water and coastal areas kills up to:
100,000 marine mammals,
1 million sea birds, and
countless fish.
Water Pollution Fact #19
The world's seas are beset by a variety of water pollution problems. See the table below for 10 of the worst areas.
The problem of water deficits is truly an international problem that affects almost every nation in the world, from super powers like the US to developing nations such as India. David Zhang from the Hong Kong University has analyzed half a millennium's worth of conflict and realized that a large proportion of these conflict had been caused by water shortage issues and could for see future conflicts.
In the United States, there are multiple water deficits problems. In a country that uses an average of 600 liters per person per day, there are still people that don't have an easy access to a water source because they are too poor to pay their water bills. In the South West or on the southern Great Plains, big cattle ranchers and farmers are pumping out of the Ogallala Aquifer at alarming rates. Currently the aquifer is being depleted at an alarming rate of 12 billion cubic meters a year or the equivalent of the flow of 18 Colorado rivers a year. Some farmers are trying to decrease the amount of water they pump from the aquifer, but it is still decreasing at an alarming rate.
In India, the water problems demonstrate one of need versus luxury. There have been cases where plants making Coca-Cola have taken water to make Coke from farmers who depend on the water to sustain their farms upon which their lives depend. This as caused the farmers to look for other sources of finding suitable water, in some cases digging wells over 450 feet deep in unsafe conditions.
Other problems arise with rivers and lakes that transverse territorial lines. The Nile is one case in point. A major source of water for Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan, the Nile would be unable to sustain the three countries' populations if they were to continue to grow at the projected rates. This could lead to wars between the countries to try an impose their rights to the use of the river's water and secure for their people a source of water.
When Central Asian states gained their Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, it became every nation for themselves. Each new nation was no longer extended the economic infrastructure and management that the former Soviet Union offered in terms of water sanitation and storage, leading to wasted resources. Wasted resources in Central Asia, where crops such as cotton and rice require intensive irrigation, lead to a decreased water supply for public use. Aging irrigation systems in the region that are decaying allow only half of water supplies to reach crops and annual droughts further heighten the soon to be crisis. The following is a ink to an article by the International Crisis Group describing water shortages in Central Asia. http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id
Farmers in India, Israel, Jordan, Spain and the United States have shown that drip irrigation systems that deliver water directly to crop roots can cut water use by 30 to 70 percent and raise crop yields by 20 to 90 percent.
In the Texas High Plains, farmers using highly efficient sprinklers raised their water efficiency to more than 90 percent while simultaneously increasing corn yields by 10 percent and cotton yields by 15 percent.
Rice farmers in an area of Malaysia saw a 45 percent increase in their water productivity through a combination of better scheduling their irrigations, shoring up canals, and sowing seeds directly in the field rather than transplanting seedlings.
Farmers in California's Imperial Valley are lining canals, recycling farm runoff and selling the saved water to southern California cities.
Israel is now reusing 65 percent of its domestic wastewater for crop production, freeing up additional freshwater for households and industries.
In Bangladesh, farmers have purchased 1.2 million treadle pumps, a human-powered device that allows users to pump previously inaccessible groundwater. These pumps, which to an affluent Westerner look remarkably like a Stairmaster exercise machine, cost $35 but typically return more than $100 in the first year of operation.
In India, home to 1.002 billion people, key aquifers are being overpumped, and the soil is growing saltier through contamination with irrigation water. Irrigation was a key to increasing food production in India during the green revolution, and as the population surges toward a projected 1.363 billion in 2025, its crops will continue to depend on clean water and clean soil.
Israel (population 6.2 million), invented many water-conserving technologies, but water withdrawals still exceed resupply. Overpumping of aquifers along the coast is allowing seawater to pollute drinking water. Like neighboring Jordan, Israel is largely dependent on the Jordan River for fresh water.
Water Pollution Facts
WATER POLLUTION FACTS FOR THE UNITED STATES
Water Pollution Fact #1
40% of America's rivers are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life.
Water Pollution Fact #2
Even worse are America's lakes—46% are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life.
Water Pollution Fact #3
Two-thirds of US estuaries and bays are either moderately or severely degraded from eutrophication (nitrogen and phosphorus pollution).
Water Pollution Fact #4
The Mississippi River—which drains nearly 40% of the continental United States, including its central farm lands—carries an estimated 1.5 million metric tons of nitrogen pollution into the Gulf of Mexico each year. The resulting hypoxic coastal dead zone in the Gulf each summer is about the size of Massachusetts.
Endangered Rivers
The river-protection group American Rivers lists the primary water pollution threats for U.S rivers:
-- Polluted runoff from roads, parking lots, and neighborhood lawns
-- Runoff from farms (pesticides, fertilizers, and animal waste)
-- Livestock damage to riparian areas (reduces near-stream filtering abilities)
-- Logging and mining operations
Of the 1200 species listed as threatened or endangered, 50% depend on rivers and streams. At least 123 freshwater species became extinct during the 20th century.
Source: American Rivers - River Facts page
Water Pollution Fact #5
1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, stormwater, and industrial waste are discharged into US waters annually. The US EPA has warned that sewage levels in rivers could be back to the super-polluted levels of the 1970s by the year 2016.
Water Pollution Fact #6
In any given year, about 25% of beaches in the US are under advisories or are closed at least one time because of water pollution.
WATER POLLUTION FACTS BEYOND THE U.S.
Water Pollution Fact #7
Asian rivers are the most polluted in the world. They have three times as many bacteria from human waste as the global average and 20 times more lead than rivers in industrialized countries.
Water Pollution Fact #8
In 2004, water from half of the tested sections of China's seven major rivers was found to be undrinkable because of pollution.
Canada’s
Most Endangered Rivers
#1 - Petitcodiac River
#2 - Eastmain River
#3 - Okanagan River
#4 - Taku River / Iskut River
#5 - Groundhog River
#6 - Milk River
#7 - Peel River
#8 - Red River
#9 - Churchill River
#10 - Bow River
SOURCE: EndangeredRivers.net
Water Pollution Fact #9
The quality of water in Europe's rivers and lakes used for swimming and water sports worsened between 2004 and 2005, with 10% of sites not meeting standards.
Water Pollution Fact #10
Slovakia has the lowest compliance with EU guidelines for freshwater areas, with only 22.4% of bathing sites meeting the standards.
Water Pollution Fact #11
Thirty percent of Ireland's rivers are polluted with sewage or fertilizer.
Water Pollution Fact #12
The Sarno is the most polluted river in Europe, featuring a nasty mix of sewage, untreated agricultural waste, industrial waste, and chemicals.
Water Pollution Fact #13
Greece has the cleanest coastal waters, followed by Spain and Germany. Lithuania and Estonia have the dirtiest coastal waters.
Water Pollution Fact #14
The King River is Australia's most polluted river, suffering from a severe acidic condition related to mining operations.
Water Pollution Fact #15
Pollution of freshwater (drinking water) is a problem for about half of the world's population. Each year there are about 250 million cases of water-related diseases, with roughly 5 to 10 million deaths.
Water Pollution Fact #16
Diseases caused by the ingestion of water contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites include:
cholera
typhoid
schistosomiasis
dysentery and other diarrheal diseases
Water Pollution Fact #17
Bangladesh has some of the most polluted groundwater in the world. In this case, the contaminant is arsenic, which occurs naturally in the sediments. Around 85% of the total area of the country has contaminated groundwater, with at least 1.2 million Bangladeshis exposed to arsenic poisoning and with millions more at risk.
Water Pollution Fact #18
Each year, plastic waste in water and coastal areas kills up to:
100,000 marine mammals,
1 million sea birds, and
countless fish.
Water Pollution Fact #19
The world's seas are beset by a variety of water pollution problems. See the table below for 10 of the worst areas.
http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/07-26/water-pollution-facts-article.htm